Paper Airplane Launcher Toy

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a toy which holds and launches multiple paper airplanes. It utilizes a user input device, such as a trigger or button, to initiate firing. On initiation one or more paper airplanes are advanced into a spinning wheel, which is powered by an electric motor, that accelerates the paper airplanes out of the toy. Upon leaving the toy, the paper airplanes fly through the air to their target.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to toys and games, and in particular to toy projectile launchers. It also relates to paper airplanes, which serve as the projectiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The origin of the paper airplane traces itself back to the Han dynasty in China, where the manufacture of paper was first developed. Since its ancient beginnings, the paper airplane has been one of the most classic toys ever created. They are cheap and can be made by just about anyone. Most importantly, though, they are lots of fun to fly.

Another classic category of toy, though perhaps not quite so old as the paper airplane, is the foam dart shooter. The NERF brand has become ubiquitous in American culture since it's inception in the 1960's, and foam darts are a staple in many households containing children. The guns, turrets, and other weapons manufactured by NERF and their competitors have earned a place in the hearts of many children and adults alike. This is likely attributable to the fact that, like the paper airplane, the toys are a lot of fun.

Both types of toy have their drawbacks, however. While paper airplanes are simple to fly, many children find throwing them difficult. Some children are too young to have developed the necessary arm strength and coordination, while others suffer from injuries or physical disabilities. Pulling a trigger or pressing a button is a lot easier than throwing a paper airplane.

Another limitation of paper airplanes is the pizazz factor. The most popular toys—like NERF blasters—are often brightly colored, while paper airplanes are typically plain white. Paper airplanes also lack the foam dart experience in the mock warfare context. A paper airplane fight doesn't sound like much fun, in the same way a NERF fight without the blasters doesn't sound like much fun. Children often find launching projectiles at one another more amusing than throwing them. Parents are likely to hold the same preference for launching versus throwing. Permitting the use of NERF blasters does not reinforce the general negative behavior of throwing objects at others, which is a problem for some children.

Foam dart launchers have different drawbacks. The majority of their problems revolve around the foam darts they use as ammunition. As many children know, an arsenal of foam darts has a way of slowly disappearing. This limits the fun of the toys until the foam dart supply can be replenished. In the best case scenario this is accomplished by removing couch cushions, looking under and behind furniture, and thoroughly searching shelves and windowsills. Even then, some darts vanish to never be found again, which leads to more difficult replenishment strategies, like convincing a parent to purchase more.

Parents recognize these same drawbacks of the foam darts. The projectiles have a habit of getting anywhere and everywhere, as their small size and narrow profile allows them to fit under kitchen appliances, behind desks and bookshelves, and within any other rarely-examined nook and cranny a household might contain. And, once the supply inevitably reaches a critically-low level, one must purchase additional darts to further fill those nooks and crannies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention describes a launcher toy which can be loaded with a plurality of stacked paper airplanes. It utilizes a user input device, such as a trigger or button, to initiate the launching of the paper airplanes. Upon actuation of the user input device, one or more paper airplanes are pushed into a spinning motorized wheel which accelerates them out of the launcher. The launcher toy's essential elements are a channel, a user input device, a pushing mechanism, a wheel, and an electric motor; all of these elements are described in detail below. Note that here, as well as in interpreting the scope of the appended claims in an open-ended (“comprising”) context, indefinite articles “a” and “an” are intended to mean “one or more,” and elements so described may share structure and functionality with other elements. Elements of this type may or may not depend on other elements of the same type to function; for example, a launcher may have two buttons which must be pressed simultaneously to launch a paper airplane.

A paper airplane is any gliding or flying apparatus constructed primarily from paper, though it may include additional materials such as tape, glue, staples, stickers, etc. Typical configurations include a vertical base which runs the entire length of the object, and two horizontal wings which extend from the top edge of the vertical base and also run the entire length of the object. Sometimes the base and both wings meet at a point in the front of the paper airplane; other times the front is blunt. Less common variates incorporate additional structures such as wing tips or fins, and rarely the vertical base is omitted or there are multiple vertical bases.

The launcher toy may function with any variation of paper airplane, though it is likely (if not logically necessary) that any specific embodiment would function with only one variation or some subset of all possible variations. Note that the capabilities of the launcher to operate with paper airplanes does not limit it's potential capabilities in operating with other projectiles, without regard to whether those projectiles are made of paper or even a planar or sheet material.

While the launcher toy holds a plurality of paper airplanes, it is not required that it be loaded with a plurality to enable functionality. The holding of a plurality of paper airplanes, and the functioning in that instance, is a necessary capability of the launcher toy. The launcher toy might also function, though, after being loaded with only a single paper airplane. Note that this capability is not required either—it might be the case that a launcher toy only functions when loaded with the maximum quantity of paper airplanes it can hold. The only requirement is that the launcher toy functions when loaded with some plurality of paper airplanes; nothing requires or limits any other capabilities regarding functionality when loaded with any other quantity of paper airplane.

The paper airplane launcher toy includes a channel, which is a slot or receptacle which holds multiple stacked paper airplanes. The manner in which the paper airplanes are stacked is not limited; paper airplanes may be stacked directly one on top of another, or with any offset, with different embodiments including differing capabilities in this regard. The channel may hold the paper airplanes by any of their structures, surfaces, or edges, and its holding of the paper airplanes may be effectuated in tandem with other launcher toy structures or elements. The channel and any other structures or elements which assist it in the holding of paper airplanes may require the launcher toy be oriented in a specific way (e.g. not upside down, or not pointing straight up vertically) to hold onto the paper airplanes, though it may also hold the paper airplanes in every orientation.

A paper airplane is considered contained by the launcher toy from the time it is loaded in the channel to the time that it breaks contact with the launcher toy after being accelerated out of it. The act of loading a paper airplane refers to placing a paper airplane in the channel such that it is positioned for launch. A paper airplane is positioned for launch when it is in such a position that the user input device, upon being triggered one or more times, actuates the pushing mechanism and moves the paper airplane to the motorized wheel which accelerates it out of the launcher.

The paper airplane toy includes a wheel driven by the electric motor. This motorized wheel is oriented such that its axis of rotation is generally perpendicular to the lengthwise axis of the paper airplanes it accelerates. A paper airplane's lengthwise axis runs from fore to aft along the center of its wing surface. When a paper airplane contacts the spinning wheel, the wheel grabs the paper airplane and begins pushing it, accelerating the paper airplane and ejecting it out of the launcher toy.

The pushing mechanism is actuated by the user input device, and pushes paper airplanes into contact with the motorized wheel. This may be done synchronously or asynchronously, i.e. one paper airplane at a time, some paper airplanes at a time, or all paper airplanes at a time. The pushing mechanism is a mechanism which moves paper airplanes translationally by pushing on them, either directly or indirectly. This includes linear-moving structures like as arms and blocks and rotating structures like as wheels and belts, or any combination thereof. It is not required that the pushing mechanism move a loaded paper airplane to the launcher assembly upon a single actuation. The pushing mechanism may also be a combination of pushing structures; for example, a launcher toy may have two structures A and B which comprise the pushing mechanism, where A moves paper airplanes halfway to the motorized wheel from their initially loaded position in the channel, and B moves them the rest of the way. Such a pushing mechanism may even be half-actuated by a user input device which alternates between actuating A and B, requiring two actuations of the user input device for a paper airplane to make contact with the wheel.

The pushing mechanism need not be actuated by every identical input applied to the user input device. For example, a launcher may have two pushing mechanisms and a trigger which actuates them in an alternating sequence. Both pushing mechanisms move the bottom airplane in a stack of paper airplanes positioned for launch to the motorized wheel, but each one is only actuated on every other trigger pull. Likewise, the same pushing mechanism may be triggered by multiple user input devices or combinations of user input devices.

The movement effectuated on paper airplanes by the pushing mechanism need not be effectuated through direct physical contact. Any number of structures or elements may link an advancement body to a paper airplane. For example, in a launcher loaded with three paper airplanes A, B, and C, an advancement body only making physical contact with A can still simultaneously exert force on B and C. If A is in contact with B, and B is in contact with C, the advancement body may apply force to B (through A) and C (through B).

The user input device actuates the pushing mechanism. User input devices include triggers, toggles, switches, buttons, knobs, levers, and slides. The user input device may be physically linked to the pushing mechanism or even share structure with the pushing mechanism, such that triggering the user input device directly and physically actuates the pushing mechanism. The user input device may also actuate the pushing mechanism via some other power source, for example electronically actuating a linear solenoid pushing mechanism.

The launcher toy which is configured to launch standard paper airplanes can also include a guide fin. A standard paper airplane is one which comprises a vertical base which extends along its entire length, and two coplanar horizontal wings folding out from the top edge of the vertical base at right angles which also run along its entire length. The guide fin penetrates the lengthwise crevice at the top edge of the vertical base, between the two wings. This penetration is maintained during some or all of the movement of paper airplanes by the pushing mechanism, providing crosswise stability during the movement.

The launcher toy can also include a rate-limiting structure. The rate-limiting structure physically blocks some, but not all, of the maximum number of paper airplanes a launcher toy can hold from being synchronously moved by the pushing mechanism. The remaining paper airplanes are not physically blocked, allowing the pushing mechanism to move them to the motorized wheel. The rate-limiting structure need not be permanently enabled, nor must it always block paper airplane movement to the motorized wheel whenever there is a plurality of paper airplanes loaded. For example, in a launcher loaded with six paper airplanes, the same feed-blocking structure may be disabled to allow all six planes to be launched with a single user input device actuation; enabled in a semi-automatic mode to allow only one plane to be launched per user input device actuation; or enabled in a burst mode which allows up to three planes to be launched per user input device actuation (which would launch two planes when only two planes are loaded, or one when only one is loaded).

The launcher toy can also include a detection sensor, which may be implemented as a safety device. The detection sensor is toggled by the presence or absence of paper airplanes, with a state of absence as interpreted by the detection sensor generally disrupting the functionality of the launcher toy to prevent the launch of projectiles which are not paper airplanes. This may prevent injury. Specifically, a state of absence causes the electronic or physical interruption or prevention of the user input device's actuation of the pusher mechanism, the pusher mechanism's movement of paper airplanes into contact with the wheel, the wheel's acceleration of paper airplanes out of the launcher, or any combination thereof.

The detection sensor may be a depressable detector switch which is depressed by the wing or base surfaces of paper airplanes loaded in the channel or being moved by the pushing mechanism. In such instances the launcher toy can also include an elastic containment structure, which applies mild pressure to the opposite paper airplane surface which contacts the detector switch. The pressure applied by the elastic containment structure is provided by an elastic object or material, such as a metal coil spring or elastomer block. The pressure applied by the elastic containment structure does not prevent movement by the pushing mechanism, and ensures the depression of the detector switch when a paper airplane is present. The elastic containment structure necessarily includes a cavity for the detector switch. This prevents the detector switch from being depressed by the elastic containment structure itself; the switch is only depressed by objects between the elastic containment structure and the detector switch.

The launcher toy can also include a feed-blocking structure if it includes a detection sensor, which moves in and out of position to physically block all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism. The position of the feed-blocking structure is determined by the detection sensor's interpretation of the state of paper airplane presence, with presence moving the feed-blocking structure into position to block, and absence retracting the feed-blocking structure out of position to not block.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cutaway view of the internals of a paper airplane launcher toy with three loaded paper airplanes; and

FIG. 2 depicts a cutaway view of the internals of a paper airplane launcher toy with three loaded paper airplanes and a partially-pulled trigger.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made to several potential embodiments of the present invention. Each detail is provided as an explanation of the present subject matter, and should not be construed to narrow the metes and bounds of the invention's broader conception. While the subject matter will be described in conjunction with particular embodiments, it will be apparent to persons having ordinary skill in the art that many further modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit thereof. Thus, it is intended that the present subject matter covers such modifications and variations, inasmuch as they would come within the scope of the appended claims.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the paper plane launcher toy takes the general shape of a toy gun. The user input device is a trigger, and the device is hand-held.

In FIG. 1, the trigger [1] is in the non-depressed position. Loaded in the channel [4] are three standard paper airplanes which include a ridge in their vertical bases as a result of the way they were folded. As this is a profile view, the wings of the paper airplanes are coplanar with the line-of-sight perspective. The outline of the vertical base of the bottom stacked paper airplane [6] is visible in the channel [4], along with the aforementioned ridge in this paper airplane's vertical base [8]. The other two paper airplanes [9] stacked on top of the bottom paper airplane [6] are blocked from advancing further forward by the a rate-limiting structure [10]. Only the wing profiles of these two paper airplanes [9] have been included for clarity. The base structures of these two paper airplanes, while omitted, nest in the base structure of the bottom paper airplane [6]. The structure holding the rate limiting structure [10] in its fixed position above the channel [4] has been omitted for clarity. The wheel [3] is directly driven by the electric motor [2]. When the trigger [1] is pulled, it mechanically advances the pushing mechanism [7], which slides along the vertical base of the bottommost paper airplane [6] until it contacts the ridge [8], at which point the paper airplane [6] would begin to be pushed forward until it reached the wheel [3] and experienced an acceleration out of the launcher.

In FIG. 2, the trigger [1] has been partially pulled, which has advanced the pushing mechanism [7] forward. At this point the pushing mechanism [7] has already began pushing the bottom paper airplane [6] forward, specifically by pushing against the ridge [8] in the bottom paper airplane's vertical base. The other two paper airplanes in the launcher [9] continue to be blocked by the rate-limiting structure [10]; this embodiment only launches a single paper airplane at a time.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 includes an electronic depressable detection sensor [5] which is depressed by the bottom loaded paper airplane [6]. When the detection sensor [5] is not depressed, an interruption in the power source for the electronic motor [2] stops the wheel [3] from spinning.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, because certain changes may be made in carrying out the above constructions set forth without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 

What is claimed:
 1. A paper airplane launcher toy comprising: a channel, a user input device, a pushing mechanism, a wheel, and an electric motor, wherein: a) the channel holds a plurality of stacked paper airplanes; b) the user input device actuates the pushing mechanism; c) the pushing mechanism synchronously or asynchronously moves the plurality of paper airplanes into contact with the wheel; d) the wheel is driven by the electric motor; and e) the wheel accelerates paper airplanes fed by the pushing mechanism out of the launcher.
 2. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 1 further comprising: a guide fin, wherein: a) the guide fin penetrates the lengthwise crevice on the top surface of paper airplanes; and b) the guide fin maintains crosswise stability during the pushing mechanism's movement of paper airplanes to the wheel.
 3. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 1 further comprising: a rate-limiting structure, wherein: a) the rate-limiting structure physically blocks a proper subset of paper airplanes being synchronously moved by the pushing mechanism; b) the remaining paper airplanes being synchronously moved by the pushing mechanism: i. are not blocked, ii. are moved into contact with the wheel by the pushing mechanism, and iii. are accelerated out of the launcher by the wheel.
 4. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 1 further comprising: a guide fin, and a rate-limiting structure, wherein: a) the guide fin penetrates the lengthwise crevice on the top surface of paper airplanes; and b) the guide fin maintains crosswise stability during the pushing mechanism's movement of paper airplanes to the wheel. c) the rate-limiting structure physically blocks a proper subset of paper airplanes being synchronously moved by the pushing mechanism; d) the remaining paper airplanes being synchronously moved by the pushing mechanism: i. are not blocked, ii. are moved into contact with the wheel by the pushing mechanism, and iii. are accelerated out of the launcher by the wheel.
 5. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 1 further comprising: a detection sensor, wherein: a) the detection sensor is toggled by the presence or absence of paper airplanes; and b) a state of paper airplane absence interpreted by the sensor interrupts or prevents: i. the user input device's actuation of the pushing mechanism ii. the pushing mechanism's movement of paper airplanes into contact with the wheel, and/or iii. the wheel's acceleration of paper airplanes out of the launcher.
 6. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 2 further comprising: a detection sensor, wherein: a) the detection sensor is toggled by the presence or absence of paper airplanes; and b) a state of paper airplane absence interpreted by the sensor interrupts or prevents: i. the user input device's actuation of the pushing mechanism ii. the pushing mechanism's movement of paper airplanes into contact with the wheel, and/or iii. the wheel's acceleration of paper airplanes out of the launcher.
 7. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 3 further comprising: a detection sensor, wherein: a) the detection sensor is toggled by the presence or absence of paper airplanes; and b) a state of paper airplane absence interpreted by the sensor interrupts or prevents: i. the user input device's actuation of the pushing mechanism ii. the pushing mechanism's movement of paper airplanes into contact with the wheel, and/or iii. the wheel's acceleration of paper airplanes out of the launcher.
 8. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 4 further comprising: a detection sensor, wherein: a) the detection sensor is toggled by the presence or absence of paper airplanes; and b) a state of paper airplane absence interpreted by the sensor interrupts or prevents: i. the user input device's actuation of the pushing mechanism ii. the pushing mechanism's movement of paper airplanes into contact with the wheel, and/or iii. the wheel's acceleration of paper airplanes out of the launcher.
 9. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 5 further comprising: a feed-blocking structure, wherein: a) the feed-blocking structure physically blocks all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism; b) the feed-blocking structure is retracted, such that it will not physically block all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism, if the detection sensor interprets a state of paper airplane presence.
 10. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 6 further comprising: a feed-blocking structure, wherein: a) the feed-blocking structure physically blocks all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism; b) the feed-blocking structure is retracted, such that it will not physically block all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism, if the detection sensor interprets a state of paper airplane presence.
 11. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 7 further comprising: a feed-blocking structure, wherein: a) the feed-blocking structure physically blocks all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism; b) the feed-blocking structure is retracted, such that it will not physically block all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism, if the detection sensor interprets a state of paper airplane presence.
 12. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 8 further comprising: a feed-blocking structure, wherein: a) the feed-blocking structure physically blocks all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism; b) the feed-blocking structure is retracted, such that it will not physically block all paper airplanes being moved by the pushing mechanism, if the detection sensor interprets a state of paper airplane presence.
 13. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 5 wherein: a) the detection sensor is a depressable detector switch; and b) the detector switch is depressed by the wing or base surface of paper airplanes loaded in the channel or being moved by the pushing mechanism.
 14. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 6 wherein: a) the detection sensor is a depressable detector switch; and b) the detector switch is depressed by the wing or base surface of paper airplanes loaded in the channel or being moved by the pushing mechanism.
 15. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 7 wherein: a) the detection sensor is a depressable detector switch; and b) the detector switch is depressed by the wing or base surface of paper airplanes loaded in the channel or being moved by the pushing mechanism.
 16. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 8 wherein: a) the detection sensor is a depressable detector switch; and b) the detector switch is depressed by the wing or base surface of paper airplanes loaded in the channel or being moved by the pushing mechanism.
 17. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 13 further comprising: an elastic containment structure, wherein: a) the elastic containment structure applies pressure against the opposite side of the paper airplane surface which depresses the detector switch; and b) the elastic containment structure includes a cavity for the detector switch such that the detector switch is exclusively depressed by objects between the elastic containment structure and the detector switch and not the elastic containment structure itself.
 18. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 14 further comprising: an elastic containment structure, wherein: a) the elastic containment structure applies pressure against the opposite side of the paper airplane surface which depresses the detector switch; and b) the elastic containment structure includes a cavity for the detector switch such that the detector switch is exclusively depressed by objects between the elastic containment structure and the detector switch and not the elastic containment structure itself.
 19. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 15 further comprising: an elastic containment structure, wherein: a) the elastic containment structure applies pressure against the opposite side of the paper airplane surface which depresses the detector switch; and b) the elastic containment structure includes a cavity for the detector switch such that the detector switch is exclusively depressed by objects between the elastic containment structure and the detector switch and not the elastic containment structure itself.
 20. The paper airplane launcher toy of claim 16 further comprising: an elastic containment structure, wherein: a) the elastic containment structure applies pressure against the opposite side of the paper airplane surface which depresses the detector switch; and b) the elastic containment structure includes a cavity for the detector switch such that the detector switch is exclusively depressed by objects between the elastic containment structure and the detector switch and not the elastic containment structure itself. 